Ravi Coltrane

Born on Long Island in 1965, Ravi Coltrane is the second son of John and Alice Coltrane. His father died when Coltrane was only two and Alice, a renowned composer and pianist, raised him on the West Coast and proved a strong role model in her own right. Ravi had the honor of producing and playing on Alice Coltrane’s Translinear Light, released three years prior to her death in 2007.

A move back east to New York and pivotal stints with Elvin Jones, Wallace Roney and Steve Coleman led Coltrane to begin asserting himself as a leader in the mid 1990′s, and he has since released five albums including Moving Pictures (1998), From The Round Box (2000), Mad 6 (2002), In Flux (2005), and Blending Times (2009). He has also continued appearing as a sideman with the likes of McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, and Flying Lotus, and as a co-leader of the Saxophone Summit with Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman.

Having helped mark Blue Note’s 70th anniversary as a member of The Blue Note 7, Coltrane is thrilled to join the Blue Note roster. “[Blue Note Chairman Emeritus] Bruce Lundvall has been very supportive of my work and this project. I’m honored to be on Blue Note under his watch. He’s very music-driven, which is incredibly encouraging. He’s continued the Alfred Lion example of putting music first and taking chances.”

Joe Lovano served as co-producer of the album along with Coltrane. “I’ve always produced my own recordings except for the first one, Moving Pictures, which was produced by Steve Coleman,” says Coltrane. “Joe was a truly supportive producer on this project. He has been an important figure in my life for over 20 years.” Lovano also plays alongside Coltrane and Allen in an intimate reading of Paul Motian’s “Fantasm” and joins the quintet for an explosive version of Ornette Coleman’s “Check Out Time,” from Coleman’s 1968 Blue Note album Love Call. Spirit Fiction also includes six original compositions by Coltrane and three by Alessi.

“Ravi Coltrane has been on the scene long enough to prove that his success is about much more than his father’s iconicity-or the fame of his increasingly appreciated mother, the late pianist Alice Coltrane. The younger Coltrane’s style grows more confident with each passing year, and his group excels at both upbeat grooves and searching free-time ballads.” - Time Out New York